Interference No. 104,745
Bai Specification, p. 2, ll. 14-19. Bai's specification further explains that various types of mass
analyzers are typically used to detect the analyte ions generated using MALDI:
The most common type of mass analyzer used with MALDI is the time-of-flight
(hereinafter referred to as "TOF") analyzer. However, other mass analyzers, such
as ion trap, ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometers and quadrupole time-of-
flight (QTOF) may be used. These mass analyzers must operate under high
vacuum, generally less than 1 x 10-5 torr. Accordingly, conventional MALDI
sources have been operated under high vacuum.
Id. at 2, ll. 20-24.
Some prior-art, nonMALDI mass spectrometers employed ESI (electrospray ionization)
to generate analyte ions at atmospheric pressure. After being generated at atmospheric pressure,
the analyte ions enter the vacuum
region of a mass analyzer through
an orifice, as shown for example in
Figure 1 of Fenn U.S. Patent
5,130,538 (BX 2033):
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